A problem which always faces the travelling
underwater photographer, both budding and experienced, is how to
ensure that he or she joins a group which has similar interests. All
too often, after months of planning and substantial investment in
equipment, film and the cost of the trip, the photographer is faced
with a group of divers who may be depth hounds or wreck fanatics.
This comment is by no means intended to belittle these interest, its
just simply that these activities are rarely compatible with the
needs of the underwater photographer. The photographer's preference
is normally for an uncrowded boat, shallow photogenic sites with
plenty of marine life, perhaps daily E6 processing and most of all
the opportunity to make long and unhurried dives with the knowledge
that other divers in the group will respect his "water space".

The idea of photographic workshops, which combine
these crucial elements, is not a new one. A further advantage for the
less experienced photographer is the presence of an experienced
photographer who is on hand to offer help and advice, process the
day's film, and provide constructive criticism or praise on the day's
results. The most recent of these workshops was organised by
Oonasdivers during March on board MV Sally sailing from Sharm El
Sheik in the Red Sea. Our group of six photographers ranged in
experience from raw beginner to film maker and in age from 16 to over
50. On the face of it, a very mixed party, but all individuals had
the common goal of photography which ensured a successful week and
plenty of lively conversation.

The Sally emerged as the ideal vessel for the trip.
She is stable, provides clean and comfortable accommodation for up to
eight divers (our group was restricted to six for additional space),
has a preparation and charging area dedicated to underwater cameras
and boasts an excellent cuisine and a well-stocked bar! The vessel is
skippered by Udo Fischer, an affable German sea dog who has over
eleven years experience in the Red Sea. This fact alone ensured that
the diving sites chosen are some of the least known and dived, and
therefore best preserved, but is further enhanced by the fact that
the Sally is one of the few boats which is Egyptian registered. Only
Egyptian flag vessels are allowed to visit Tiran Island, which boasts
countless unspoiled reefs, where you are unlikely to encounter more
than one or two other dive boats; and certainly not the hoards which
frequent the big name sites on the Sinai coast. During our week we
anchored over night with one other boat, but always had the dive
sites exclusively to ourselves.

We visited a variety of sites and had one or two
memorable experiences. Although part of the week was blighted by a
plankton bloom, very unusual in the Red Sea, all the group were able
to progress and produce some excellent results. To wet the appetite,
I have summarised below the major sites that we photographed.

The Temple

This is a site very close to Sharm El Sheik and
often used as a check out dive site by the live aboard boats. It is
also much frequented by day boats from Sharm. I first visited the
site in 1976 when the area was totally undeveloped and was therefore
able to appreciate how much the site has changed over the years with
the build up of diver traffic. The site still has some very nice
features, notably a large gully or swim through in the reef which is
filled with soft corals and is very photogenic. There are also
several large Napoleon or Hump head Wrasse resident on the site,
which are willing to come extremely close.

Ras um Sid

This site is a little further north up the coast
from the Temple, in easy range of day boats. It was best known for
its large Gorgonian fan corals and these can still be found in all
their glory at about 20m depth. The best coral is found further up
the coast from the point, perhaps 1/4 to 1/2 a mile, where a gentle
current will drift you back to Ras um Sid, to be picked up by your
dive boat.

Ras Nasrani

Continuing further up the coast brings you to the
attractive reef of Ras Nasrani. The reef almost breaks the surface
and slopes gently to a plateau at about 25m. The corals are in good
condition and the reef is well populated with all the expected Red
Sea species. We found some particularly ugly Stone fish as a well as
a number of very colourful species of nudibranchs.

Jackson Reef

The reef lies between the Sinai coast and Tiran
Island and is swept by some very strong currents. This, coupled with
some spectacular drop offs into deep water, provides the potential
for sighting large pelagics and the occasional shark. Although the
site is well dived the reef is still in good condition, probably due
to the fact that most dives are drift dives. In order to avoid the
inevitable diver congestion it is necessary to dive the site early in
the morning before the day boats arrive from Sharm. In our case this
meant a pre-breakfast dive at about 7.00 a.m., which is a good time
to dive as the day time reef is just coming to life and many fish are
more approachable then later in the day.

Gordon Reef

The reef lies close to Jackson and consequently is
a very similar dive. We encountered large shoals of Sheep's Heads,
Garfish and bright yellow Goat Fish, which were very co-operative.
Gordon represents the limit for non-Egyptian registered boats. Our
next stop was Tiran Island itself.

Tiran Island

The island lies almost mid way in the Straits of
Tiran, between the Sinai Peninsula and the coast of Saudi Arabia. Its
geology and topography are the same as that of the mainland and it
therefore offers the same variety of diving sites, from tranquil
lagoons with shallow coral gardens to spectacular drop offs with
everything in between. The major benefit is that this great diversity
is found in a small area so that the boat is able to anchor in a
quiet cove at night and between dives, and it is then only a short
run to one of the many dive sites. Most of these are unnamed, and
their corals are in excellent condition. Fish life is less wary of
divers than on the mainland sites. We had numerous dives around the
island, but the three below stand out in my memory.

Thomas Reef

This is a classic Red Sea reef with a fringing
shallow coral garden on a narrow submerged beach giving way to a
spectacular drop off into the blue depths. There are many pelagic
shoals here and we had sightings of Jacks, Barracuda, and cruising
Eagle Rays. A gentle current makes for an almost effortless dive.

The shark cave

Almost all week Udo had been telling us about his
secret cave, where we would be guaranteed to see sleeping sharks. We
were initially skeptical of the description of more than twenty
sharks crammed into a single cave at one time, but we were not
disappointed with the reality. Udo led us (somewhere on Tiran
Island), as it would have been impossible to find it unaided, to a
very narrow horizontal opening in the reef wall at about 17m. Sure
enough there were sharks, thirteen White Tips in all, sleeping one on
top of another and mostly facing towards the reef. The opening is so
narrow that a diver can only just get his head into the cave and the
sharks tails are then no more than 18 inches away! A distinctly warm
current can be felt coming out of the cave, which is one possible
reason for the sharks congregating, although it has been suggested
that the large numbers are due to the fact that the sharks are all
pregnant females resting.

In order to get a reasonable image a very
wide-angle lens is the best tool. I pre-focussed my 16 mm fish eye
lens and then poked both housing and flash into the cave separately
at arms length. After several bracketed shots the flash had the
undesired effect of waking one of the sharks. As the shark struggled
to get out of the cave I was torn between self preservation and the
need to get the housing out of the cave without scratching the dome
port! As the shark shot away above us, all Udo could do was to laugh
at me!

The Pinnacles

Udo has several "protected" sites around Tiran
Island, but this was definitely the most memorable. Here there were
five pinnacles rising from a maximum depth of 15m almost to the
surface. Each is slightly different, but you have the feeling that
the combination offers all the Red Sea species on one dive and all of
them are seemingly fearless of diver intrusion. We saw shoaling
Banner Fish, Sweetlips, glassy Sweepers, Crocodile Fish, Stone Fish,
Eagle ray, Morays, and lots more including one large stubborn Grouper
which refused to move no matter how close you came. The procedure
here was just to change your tank and film, decide what you wanted to
photograph next, flop into the water and swim to the appropriate
pinnacle. The variety of corals was stunning, including some very
large gorgonians with resident Hawk Fish, and their condition was
pristine. Udo saved this dive site to the end of the week and in my
opinion was certainly a grand finale, like turning the clock back to
1976 when I first visited the Red Sea.

In conclusion, I feel that many underwater
photographers will find the concept of a workshop, whether they come
for guidance or the company, very beneficial. Travelling to Sharm El
Sheik is now much simpler, with direct flights, and it is only a
short ride away from the airport to the jetty, where you board your
boat and sail away from the crowds. Despite the continued development
of the area, there is still some great diving to be found!